Electric controller.



No. 775,317. PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904. H. O. SMITH & G. E. LIPPBRT.

'ELECTRIC CONTROLLER. APPLIOATION :1mm 123.2.

' SHEETS-SHEET IlA N0 MODEL.

wh/mono 110.775,31?. PATRNTRL Nov. 22, 1904. R. C. SMITH & G. R. LIRRRRT. RLRUTRIG CONTROLLER.

APTLIoATIoR numl ARR. 2, 1904. No u TL 2 sBRRTs-HRRT 2.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 22, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

HARRY C. SMITH AND GEORGE E. LIPPERT, OF CHAGRIN FALLS, OHIO-ll ELECTRIC CONTROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,317, dated November V22, 1904.

Application filed April Z, 1904. Serial'No. 201,296. (No model.)

To aIZZ whom it 17a/ay concern,.-

Be it known that we, HARRY C. SMITH and GEORGE E. LIPPERT, citizens of the United States, residing at Chagrin Falls, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Electric Controllers, of which the followingis a specification.-

Our invention pertains to electric controllers and contemplates the provision of a reliable electrical device for stopping and starting an air-compresser or other duid-pressure apparatus, and thereby regulating the working of the same.

With the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, illustrating our novel controller as the same appears when the electric circuit is complete. Fig. 2 is a detail edge elevation of the outer portion of the fixed arm of the controller. Fig..3 is a similar view of the outer portion of the swinging arm of the controller. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation illustrating the opposite sides of the swinging arm and the contact-piece thereon to those shown in Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a detail elevation illustrating the position of the swinging arm relative to the fixed arm when the electric Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view illustrating our novel controller,together with a source of electric power, a motor, a fluid-pressure pump or compresser, and the electric and Huid pressure connections between the said parts.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 to 5 thereof, A is the cylinder of the controller constituting the present and preferred embodiment of our invention. The said cylinder is connected at one end to a conduit a, designed to lead from an air-compresser or similar device or from a reservoir, is exteriorly threaded at its opposite end, as indicated by I), and is provided at an intermediate point of its length with a longitudinal slot c and lugs d, disposed at opposite sides of said slot.

and mounted on and engaging the thread of the screw D, and F a coiled spring contained in the cylinder A and interposed between the head f of the piston B and the head lc of the screw D. The said spring F exerts pressure against the piston B and tends to resist movement of the piston in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. l, and its tension may obviously be regulated through the medium of the nut E and the screw D, so as to cause it to resist the movement of the piston in the direction stated to a greater or less extent, as required.

G is a rigid arm, of insulating material, fixedly connected to and extending laterally from the cylinder A and having a recess Z in one of its vsides and at an .intermediate point of its length and also having a beveled outer end m, Fig. 2. LH is a contact-piece iixed in the said recess of arm G, and I is a binding-post carried by the arm G and connected with the iixed contact-piece, as shown by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

J is a swinging arm which comprises, by preference, an inner portion n, of metal, pivotally mounted between the lugs CZ of the cylinder A and extending through the slot c of said cylinder and having a slot p receiving the lateral projection g on the piston-rod e, an intermediate portion Q, of insulating material, and an outer portion 1 of Inetal. The said outer portion o" carries a binding-post s, a swinging contact-piece t, and a coiled spring u. lht swinging contact-piece t is pivotally mounted on a bolt o, extending laterally lfrom the portion rof arm J, and a coiled spring w is interposed between vthe head of the said bolt and the side of the swinging contact-piece t, so as to hold the said contact-piece against the IOO arm r under normal conditions and yet enable the said contact-piece to give laterally when it rides over the beveled end of the liXed arm G in the manner presently described. The spring fuy is interposed between and connected to the swinging contact-piece t and the arm portion fr and operates to normally hold a nut a; or other abutment on the contact-piece t against the edge of the said arm portion fr, as shown in Fig. 1.

1n the practical operation ot' our novel controller the parts rest in the relative positions I shown in Fig. l so long as the pressure supplied to the cylinder A through pipe a is insuflicient to overcome the pressure exerted by the spring F, and hence the electric circuit remains complete and the working of the compressor continues. /Vhen, however, the air or other iuid under pressure supplied through the pipe a compresses the spring F suiiiciently to swing the outer portion of the arm J in the direction indicated by arrow in Fig. l far enough to draw the contact-piece t out of engagement with the contact-piece H, the electric circuit will be broken and the working of the compressor stopped. The movement of the arm J and the contact-piece t in the direction indicated by arrow puts the spring a under tension, and hence when the free end o'l' the contact-piece z5 reaches the end of the outer wall of the recess I the said spring will cause the contact-piece t to snap out of engagement with the arm Gr and to assume the position shown in Fig. 5 relative to the arm J and by so doing will e'liect a quick breaking of the electric circuit. The parts will remain in the positions last stated until the pressure of the spring F is greater than that of the air in the cylinder A, when the said spring will operate to move the piston B toward the right and through the medium of the said piston swing the arm J toward the arm Gr. Vhen the contact-piece t incident to such movement of the arm J reaches the beveled end on of the arm it will ride over said end and snap into engagement with the complementary contact-piece H, and thereby complete the electric circuit and cause the resumption of working of the compressor.

rlhe positive connection of the electric circuit may be on the contact-piece H and the negative connection of said circuit on the arm portion 9', with which the contact -piece t is electrically connected, as indicated by the conventional plus and minus signs in Fig. 1, or, if desired, the negative connection maybe on the contact-piece H and the positive connection on the arm portion fr.

/Vhen the electric circuit is broken, the spring u operates to hold the abutment fc against the edge of the arm portion 7 and the contact-piece t in the position shown in Fig. 5 relative to the arm G, so that said contactpiece z5 is in readiness to ride over the end m of the arm G when the pressure of the spring F is greater than the Huid-pressure, and the piston B is moved toward the right by the expansion of said spring'.

Referring' by letter to Fig. of the drawings, M is an electric motor. N is a source of electric energy; P, a fluid-pressure pump or compressor connected with and adapted to be operated by the motor; Q, a pipe interposed between and connecting the pump and the cylinder A of our novel controller; R, a branch pipe designed to lead from the pipe Q to the point of use; S, an electric connection intermediate of the contact-piece H of the controller and the positive pole of the source ot' electrical energy, and T an electrical connection intermediate of the contact-piece t ot' the controller and the negative pole of the source of electrical energy. Vhen the circuit in which the motor M, source of electrical energy N, andv the controller are arranged is broken, the motor will obviously stop and the compression of iuid pressure cease, while when the said circuit is completed the motor and the pump or compressor will again be put in operation.

1t will be gathered from the foregoing that our novel controller is automatic and reliable in operation and that its construction is simple and inexpensive and does not comprise any delicate parts, such as are likely to get out of order after a short period of use.

We have entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the several parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of our invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of said embodiment and the workings thereof. vWe do not desire, however, to be understood as coniining ourselves to such specilic construction and relative arrangement of parts, as such changes ormodilications may be made in practice as fairly t'all within the scope of our invention as claimed.

Having described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an electric controller, the combination of a cylinder, a piston contained in the cylinder and arranged to be moved in one direction by fluid-pressure, other means 'for moving the piston in the opposite direction, a contact piece, a swinging arm connected and movable with the piston, a swinging contactpiece on said swinging arm and arranged to be moved into and out of engagement with the first-mentioned contact-piece, and a coiled spring connecting said swinging contact-piece and the swinging arm.

2. In an electric controllerone end of which is arranged to be connected with a source oil fluid-pressure supply, a screw bearing in the opposite end of the cylinder and having a head movable within the cylinder, a piston also movable in the cylinder, a coiled spring contained in the cylinder and interposed bc- IOO IIO

tween the head of the screw and the piston, a contact-piece, a swinging arm connected and movable with the piston, a swinging contactpiece on said swinging arm and arranged to be moved into and out of engagement with the first-mentioned contact-piece,and a coiled spring connecting said swinging contact-piece and the swinging arm.

3. In an electric controller, one end of which is arranged to be connected with a source of Huid-pressure supply, a cap disposed on the opposite end of the cylinder and having an aperture and also having a yoke provided with an aperture coincident with that first mentioned, a screw extended loosely through said apertures and having a head movable in the cylinder, .a nut mounted on said screw and interposed between the cap and the yoke thereof, a piston movable in the cylinder, a coiled spring interposed between the head of the screw and the piston, a contact-piece, and a second contact-piece controlled by the piston and movable into and out of engagement withthe first-mentioned contact-piece.

4. In an electric controller, the combination of a cylinder, a piston contained in the cylinder and arranged to be moved in one direction by Huid-pressure, other means for moving the piston in the opposite direction, an arm reaching laterally from the cylinder, a contact-piece carried by said arm and insulated from the cylinder, a swinging arm fulcrumed on the cylinder and connected at its inner end to the piston, a swinging contactpiece mounted on said swinging arm so as to move into and out of engagement with the first-mentioned contact-piece and insulated from the cylinder, and a coiled spring connecting said swinging contact-piece and the swinging arm.

5. In an electric controller, the combination of a cylinder, a piston contained in the cylinder and arranged to be moved in one direction by Huid-pressure, other means for movalso having a beveled outer end, a contagct-s` plece lixed 1n said recess, an arm mounted 1n a pivotal manner on the cylinder and connected at its inner end with the piston, a swinging contact-piece mounted on the outer portion of said arm and insulated from the cylinder, and a spring interposed between said swinging contact-piece and the swinging arm.

6. In an electric controller, the combination of a xed piece having a recess in its side, and also having a beveled end, a contact-piece arranged in said recess, an arm mounted to swing toward and from the fixed piece, means for swinging said arm, a swinging contactpiece mounted on the arm and movable into and out of engagement with the first-mentioned contact-piece, and a spring connecting the swinging arm and the swinging contactpiece.

7. In an electric controller, the combination of a fixed piece having a recess in its side, and also having a beveled end, a contact-piece arranged in said recess, an arm mounted to swing toward and from the fixed piece and having a lateral bolt, a contact-piece mounted to swing and move laterally on said bolt, a coiled spring arranged on the bolt between the head thereof and the swinging contactpiece, an abutment on the contact-piece arranged to engage the swinging arm, and a coiled spring connecting said arm and contact-piece.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY' C. SMITH. GEORGE E. LIPPERT.

Witnesses:

LAURENCE OTooLE, H. A. EMERY. 

